Engineering Applications of Articial Intelligence 128 (2024) 107532
Available online 12 December 2023
0952-1976/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Newton-Raphson-based optimizer: A new population-based metaheuristic
algorithm for continuous optimization problems
Ravichandran Sowmya
a
, Manoharan Premkumar
b
,
*
, Pradeep Jangir
c
a
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India
b
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560078, India
c
Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam, Sikar, 332025, Rajasthan, India
ARTICLE INFO
Keywords:
Constrained problems
Internet of vehicle
Metaheuristics
Newton-Raphson-based optimizer
Newton-Raphson search rule
Trap avoidance operator
ABSTRACT
The Newton-Raphson-Based Optimizer (NRBO), a new metaheuristic algorithm, is suggested and developed in
this paper. The NRBO is inspired by Newton-Raphson’s approach, and it explores the entire search process using
two rules: the Newton-Raphson Search Rule (NRSR) and the Trap Avoidance Operator (TAO) and a few groups of
matrices to explore the best results further. The NRSR uses a Newton-Raphson method to improve the explo-
ration ability of NRBO and increase the convergence rate to reach improved search space positions. The TAO
helps the NRBO to avoid the local optima trap. The performance of NRBO was assessed using 64 benchmark
numerical functions, including 23 standard benchmarks, 29 CEC2017 constrained benchmarks, and 12 CEC2022
benchmarks. In addition, the NRBO was employed to optimize 12 CEC2020 real-world constrained engineering
optimization problems. The proposed NRBO was compared to seven state-of-the-art optimization algorithms, and
the ndings showed that the NRBO produced promising results due to its features, such as high exploration and
exploitation balance, high convergence rate, and effective avoidance of local optima capabilities. In addition, the
NRBO also validated on challenging wireless communication problem called the internet of vehicle problem, and
the NRBO was able to nd the optimal path for data transmission. Also, the performance of NRBO in training the
deep reinforcement learning agents is also studied by considering the mountain car problem. The obtained results
also proved the NRBO’s excellent performance in handling challenging real-world engineering problems.
1. Introduction
The past several years have seen a urry of interest in real-world
optimization problems that are difcult to solve in various elds,
together with but not restricted to computer science-associated chal-
lenges and data analytics, as well as wireless communication and engi-
neering design challenges (Abdel-Basset et al., 2018). Common features
of such optimization problems include the presence of constraints, de-
cision variables, objectives, and other similar elements. Today’s modern
research, particularly in engineering and manufacturing control prob-
lems, heavily relies on applying optimization algorithms (Halim et al.,
2020; Sreedhar et al., 2020). Analytical or numerical programming and
heuristics or metaheuristic techniques are two categories used to solve
real-world engineering problems (Osaba et al., 2021). The initial clas-
sication of the Metaheuristic Algorithm (MA) separates it into two
categories: single-solution and population-based algorithms.
Single-Solution-Based (SSB) algorithms are more efcient than
population-based algorithms. Depending on their complexity, numerous
real-world problems could be characterized as single-objective, multi--
objective, or multimodal optimization problems. Because of such
complicated features, conventional mathematical methods such as
gradient descent and conjugate gradient cannot handle these situations
efciently and effectively (Okwu and Tartibu, 2021; Kumar et al., 2022).
On the other hand, the MA of the latter categories is not gradient-
based and, as a result of their randomized behaviour, has a high likeli-
hood of avoiding local optima (Gong et al., 2020; Abualigah et al.,
2021). The MAs provide many advantages over traditional techniques,
including ease of implementation, reliability, and efciency. Because of
such characteristics, MAs can overcome the limitations of classic
methodologies, such as early convergence and local optima stalling
(Dr
´
eo et al., 2006). When handling optimization problems, because MAs
are members of the randomized optimization class, they gain from using
stochastic operators to prevent locally optimum solutions as much as
possible (Oliva et al., 2021). In MAs, the two important search stages are
exploration and exploitation. These two phases must be balanced to get
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: sowmyanitt@gmail.com (R. Sowmya), mprem.me@gmail.com (M. Premkumar), pkjmtech@gmail.com (P. Jangir).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Engineering Applications of Articial Intelligence
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engappai
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engappai.2023.107532
Received 24 February 2022; Received in revised form 30 August 2023; Accepted 14 November 2023